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Bladder capacity
Hi there, maybe a silly question but after everyone’s treatment (TURBTs, BCG, etc.) how much urine does your bladder now hold? This is one of those things I never really thought about until BC. I read that a “healthy” bladder should be able to hold roughly 14-16 ounces. Mine after 2 TURBTs and an initial 6 doses of BCG finished last week is maxing out of 10-12 ounces. How do I know this? Ok I have measured it in a red solo cup that yes I throw out and then use a clean one to check the level.
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4 Replies
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Though I’ve not used a red solo cup for monitoring this, I have an idea of what my bladder capacity is, by counting the seconds it takes to empty my bladder. This seemed sort of OCD to me, until I read this thread.
I think that the decreased capacity is because of swelling of the bladder tissue. It’s also sensitized because of all of the torture you’ve had, so I believe the nerves trigger “the need to pee” and your brain responds.
Get rid of that red solo cup, man! That’s way too close to a beer in appearance! :-)
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Is capacity actually reduced or is there simply increased sensitivity of the bladder following bcg so that your sense of having to empty the bladder occurs earlier than it otherwise would? Immediately following bcg I no sooner get back to bed from the bathroom than I feel like I have to go again. That gradually lessens over 6-8 hours. But if you were to measure output it would be small. That doesn’t mean the bladder can hold less. It’s just extremely sensitive until all the medicine is cleaned out. Once the sensitivity goes away things seem back to normal.
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Riley,
My bladder capacity went down for awhile after BCG. I am assuming it simply shrunk. I practiced holding for a longer time for a few months. After about 6 months it came back to whatever my normal was prior.
DX 5/6/2008 TAG3 papillary tumor .5 CM in size. 2 TURBS followed by 6 instillations of BCG weekly with a second round of 6 after a 6 week wait.
RileyNH
The normal unit of measure is CCs – otherwise we get into the oz vs liquid oz discussion. A urinal is the normal device to measure quantity. Having sounded clinical enough you raise a question that deserves an answer. Following a TURBT or a series of BCG treatments, or other invasive procedure, my capacity starts at 200 to 300 cc max, sometimes (much) less for a while. So far, after 5 years of BC, capacity has always slowly rebounded to the +/- 750 cc (3/4 liter) middle of the night wakeup.
People differ in all measures. I am a big guy at 6’4″ and 230, You are going to need more data to compare capacity reduction.
17 fluid oz = 1/2 liter or 500 cc or about 1.1 us pounds.
The higher capacity makes for a better night sleep and a less grumpy next day.Best,
Jack
6/2015 HG Papillary & CIS
3 Years and 30 BCG/BCG+Inf
Tis CIS comes back.
BC clear as of 5/17 !
RCC found in my one & only kidney 10/17
Begin Chemo; Cisplatin and Gemzar
8/18 begin Chemo# 3
Begin year 4 with cis
2/19 Chemo #4
9/19 NED again :)
1/2020 CIS is back
Tried Keytruda, stopped by side effects
Workin on a new plan for 2021Sign In to reply.
